Planning a Full Year of Tenkara Angling

How Do You Plan a Great Year of Tenkara Angling?

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As the new year unfolds, winter provides me an opportune time to chart the course for upcoming angling exploits. While planning is crucial, it's equally essential to leave room for spontaneity, enabling you to seize unexpected fishing opportunities when they present themselves.

I am fortunate to have an understanding wife, who recognizes how important fishing is to me. She sees the positive impact being on a stream has had on my mental well-being. In return, I have also made a point to recognize that she has her passions and interests that I can in return support her with. Sometimes we can even share time doing both.

We all have constraints of daily life from work and family to other responsibilities, the following tips can help transform your new year into a fishing year success, ensuring you spend more time on the water than you might have thought possible.

1. Prioritize Your Passion: To maximize your time fishing, your really need to prioritize angling as an important activity in your life. Too often, we neglect our deepest passions because of work or other obligations. Yes, work and obligations are a part of life. But we also must advocate for ourselves or our work becomes all we are living... we toil and we burn out. Make fishing a non-negotiable part of your schedule, not merely a pastime when convenient.
   
   
2. Be Ready to Seize the Moment: Maintain a "Go Box" in your car, or garage, stocked with essentials, ready to embark on spontaneous fishing adventures. This proactive approach not only saves time but also circumvents procrastination.  My box even contains everything I need if I want to grab an overnight trip with my dog too!  (I will cover this in detail in a future article I promise.)
   
   
3. Block Off Fishing Days on Your Calendar: Allocate specific days on your calendar dedicated solely to going fishing. This practice minimizes the risk of inadvertently scheduling conflicting events and serves as a visual reminder of the pending opportunities for real adventures. Take off a day at work if you can and think of it as a "mental health day"... or as I like to call it "aqua therapy".. Some employers even encourage this.
   
   
4. Negotiate with Your Family: For those with familial responsibilities, communication is key. Engage in open discussions with your family about what you each want your lives to look like. There is a way to balance and support the needs of everyone. Find common ground by planning family activities in conjunction with your fishing. Make it a win-win situation for all involved by maybe planning a family trip where everyone gets to do something they want to do and you get to put in some quality time fishing too.
   
   
5. Plan an Annual Angling Adventure: Set aside time for at least one significant fishing expedition annually. This might involve ticking off a bucket list destination or embarking on an adventure that demands meticulous planning. These trips are worth doing and worth making the sacrifices needed to make them happen.
   
   

By recognizing the importance of taking charge of our life's experiences we get to see ourselves as cap Life is too short to not make time for ourselves. You only have this life, don't spend it toiling away, don't live to work, work to live. You have permission to make this life a great adventure. Setting aside the time you need for you and for your passions is healthy. Don't waste a single day.

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